Thanks
by LoveHurtsLife
Summary: On their way back from a mission, Deidara and Tobi stumble upon a herd of horses near a river. Tobi helps Deidara get over Sasori's death. Oneshot!


**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, if I did, Deidara'll be the only character.**

**Title: Thanks  
****Summary: On their way back from a mission, Deidara and Tobi stumble upon a herd of horses near a river. Tobi helps Deidara get over Sasori's death.  
Pairing(s): None, but Deidara/Tobi friendship  
Rating: K+  
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**First crack at Naruto, just wanted to do something fun for once. Review or not, it's fine with me, this is supposed to be a one shot and I wanted a break from writing One Piece and Hellsing. My friend (who is a Naruto otaku) requested me to write a fan fic that is based on one of the Akatsuki encountering animals. I researched and watched a bunch of episodes, read endless chapters, and listened to other otakus of the story line and how th akatsuki acted and their personalities. Hopefully my research paid off for Deidara.**

**A/N: The ending is a bit complicated. I just wanted to imply that after Sasori's death, Deidara could have possibly affected just a little bit. Long story short, Deidara seemed a bit out of focus due to Sasori's death, Tobi notices it and decides to help him. I'm not really sure abotu how the characters act so bear with me on this....**

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"Senpai!" Tobi exclaimed, he scouted ahead of Deidara, who sighed out of frustration,"If he gets caught in another freaking trap, I swear I'll-"

He looked over a bush that Tobi was dancing around on his tip-toes, then he rolled his eyes,"Oh joy, you found-"

"Look at all those pretty horses!"

There were about seven or ten horses in the herd.

"Uh-huh, very pretty, un," Deidara said unenthusiastically,"now let's get back to the base, I want to finish my art-"

Too late, Tobi had leaped over the bush and shrubbery and started to walk over to the nearest horse, a dam and her filly, he started petting her check with soft, easy strokes while saying,"That's a good girl....Senpai, c'mon, she's gentle!"

"Tobi, this isn't a petting zoo, get away from her! You know the basic rules of nature, don't get between the mother and child, un!" Dedara hissed sharply, but Tobi ignored him

"Aw, you make it sound like that time when you got mulled over by that mama bear!"

Deidara shuddered.

.:A Week Ago:.

_"Tobi, get away from that thing, the mother might be here, yeah!"_

_"It's alright Senpai-"_

_Dedara heard a low growl behind him, he slowly turned around and started sprinted towards Tobi. He snatched him and started running anime style with the bear going after them._

_Tobi shouted apologetically,"Tobi's sorry!"_

_"URGH, YOU IDIOT, YEAH!"_

_The bear caught up to Deidara, her paws was caught in his cloak, he tripped and was mulled over instantly._

_For the first time, Tobi watched Deidara cry real tears._

.:Present:.

He looked under his shirt to see a long, claw mark that extended from one side of his belly up to his mouth on his chest,"That's the last time I'm getting stitches...No, Tobi, let's go...or else I'll leave you, yeah...(hey, that's not such a bad idea, hmph)..."

"Eh? Senpai never leaves me!" In an instant, he rushed over to Deidara and pulled on his sleeve. "I can teach you how to pet her!"

"The last animal I pet could've killed me, hmph," he murmured while Tobi dragged him to the horse. The dam stared at him challengingly. "I don't like the look she's giving me-"

"Go ahead!"

Deidara hesitated to lift his hand quickly to horse's nose. She sniffed him, ears pinned back, then snorted. He flinch but continued until she suddenly snapped her teeth at his fingers, only an inch away from biting him. Tobi shook his head,"Senpai, you got to be gentle with the animal...you can use them for art!"

"Art, yeah?"

"Yeah, art that doesn't require blowing things up!"

"Drawing?"

"...something like that...but first, you got to be gentle with her..."

Tobi's hand grabbed Deidara's and slowly lifted it to the bridge of the female's nose, he shifted Deidara's rough hands along the mane. The hair was incredibly soft and thick, Tobi released Deidara's hand and went to meet up with the filly, causing him to be fascinated by its texture. Deidara had always seen horses as beasts of burden but oddly, he had a feeling that they should be free after encountering his first horse to pet.

The Mother looked at him as he went to her back to see how well proportioned she was from her head to tail, withers to girth, and chest to flanks. Perhaps Tobi was right, he could create a sculpture than a bomb for once or even take up sketching. The dam stretched her neck towards Deidara and nudged him on the shoulder affectionately, he smiled,"That's a good girl, yeah...."

"See, she doesn't attack!"

Tobi was ignored by Deidara, whoever thought that this beast can be so captivating. For once in his life, Deidara had felt relaxed, he let go of his problems and the fact he was part of the Akatsuki and sighed heavily. The dam exhaled as well, mimicking Deidara.

"...you know, you should relax like this Senpai, and be calm....these animals need a mother's hand, not a manhandle....you've been a bit off lately, Senpai..."

"I have, hm?"

"Yeah, I mean, after Sasori died-"

"I'm fine..."

"Hm...alright..."

They were quiet until Deidara spoke,"I sort have found Sasori as a brother to me....well, a brother in the arts since he respected it more than I do, yeah..."

"So it's just about the art?"

"Yes....no..."

"Then it's being brothers..."

"Pretty much, yeah..."

Tobi looked over to him,"That's cool....I wish I had an Aniki..."

"Well...I called him Danna, but I really thought of him as an Aniki...I wonder if he thought of me as one, un..."

"Huh...interesting....maybe he did..."

"...yeah?"

"Yeah..."

"....maybe if you made something, you can offer it to Sasori and thank him for being your Aniki...or Danna...whatever you prefer..."

There was another nudge from the horse, he suddenly got an idea...

.:A Week Later-Akatsuki Base:.

Konan walked down the hallway by herself. She noted that Deidara's door was opened and there was whistling coming from his room. Through the crack of light, she quietly opened the door a tiny bit to see what he was creating this time. Ever since he came back from his mission, Deidara had barricaded himself in his room for some suspicious reason and refused to come out except for the bathroom and at meal time and missions assigned to him. She attempted to ask Tobi, but he would laugh and ignore her question. Her eyes were most likely fooling her since she couldn't believe the sight when she opened the door wider.

His shirt was off, revealing his sweat-covered chest he made while carving out carving out a statue of a horse rearing on its hind legs, it stood six feet tall, it's forelegs kicking out as if to trample the artist. The mane and tail, though it was solid, looked like it flowed freely, the fur was etched out in every detail to make it look like the stallion was ready to gallop off, its hooves were polished to a point where it shined in the lamp light, its eyes gleamed with red rubies in its sockets. He had a rag out to clean off the check of his creation and then slowly stepped back.

Sighing, he wiped the sweat off his brow as Konan stared at his sculpture in awe.

Out of all his art work, this has got to be one of the most beautiful statue she had seen in her life. She gaped at Deidara,"Don't tell me this can explode...."

Deidara, who looked like he was in a dream world, snapped back to reality and shook his head with a laugh,"Hell no, this is one thing I definitely do not want to blow up. This is the first time I worked with black marble, do you think it's good, yeah?"

"Good?! My God, it's amazing..."

"I think I captured 'Freedom' in this, un..."

They stood there to admire Deidara's endless nights of hard work while Kakazu came by, he eyed the statue and instantly came into the room,"Deidara, where did you steal this? I can-I mean-you can sell this on the black market for millions!"

"I didn't steal it, I made it, yeah..."

While Kakazu was persuading Deidara to sell the statue, Konan shrugged,"Always about the money...." and then left. She found Tobi in the living room sitting with his feet on the coffee table. "So....what really happened that time when you and Deidara went on the mission?"

"Nothing at all but we did talk...Senpai just figured out his inner peace...besides, he needed help in his art..."

"Hm...well, at least we can admire Deidara's work for more than two seconds...."

.:Two Days Later:.

"Oi, anyone seen Deidara?" Itachi asked the Akatsuki who were lounging around. "I need to have a word with him..."

Tobi shrugged,"Senpai left, he said something about meditating in his Special Place..."

"Meditating?....last time I checked, he wasn't that big in doing it," Kisame said. "Looked like Sasori's death affected him...somehow..."

In the afternoon, Deidara returned, he ran into Tobi, who greeted him,"Hey, Senpai, had fun?"

He held out his hand, Tobi stood there a moment before shaking it. Deidara said quietly,"I put the statue on Sasori's grave.....Thanks, yeah..."

"For what?"

But Deidara had finished and left without saying another word.

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